Team Priceless takes over first place in fantasy football league

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


My Team Priceless took over first place in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League in Week 4 thanks to New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who garnered 50 fantasy points tonight in the Saints 38-17 win over Miami. Brees throws four touchdown passes and amasses 413 yards as Team Priceless comes from behind to edge Trojan Gurl, 107-94.

Only two teams remain unbeaten in the fantasy league-- Team Priceless and Three Feet Right. My team gets the edge with a 13-point fantasy-point advantage, 474-461.

Mega Powers, Nut Rub and Team Arps --three teams which were unbeaten going into Week 4-- lost this week and fall into a third-place tie at 3-1. The Assassins, after a rough start, are now 3-1 as well.

Suh-nami, Peach Fuzz Manholes, Trojan Gurl and Nuts to Butts are 1-3, while Blitz and A-Team are scraping the bottom of the barrel at 0-4.

Diamondbacks squeeze out a win in season finale

The Arizona Diamondbacks squeezed out a 3-2 win in their season finale at Chase Field against the Washington Nationals and in doing so finished the regular season with an 81-81 record -- the same record they finished with a year ago.

David Hernandez picked up the win in relief and Brad Ziegler earned his 13th save. Paul Goldschmidt hit a sacrifice fly for his 125th RBI and also singled as he finished the season with a 19-game hitting streak.

It was the longest season in history for the Diamondbacks as they played 1, 538 innings to break the major league record set in 1964 by the New York Yankees.

As for the D'backs, they will have to wait till next year.

And along comes Dan Haren...

It seems like everyone is getting into the act of silencing the bats of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tonight it was Washington's Dan Haren, the former Diamondback, who gets the job done as he throws seven innings of shutout ball-- allowing Arizona just four hits, as the Nationals beat the D'backs 2-0. He struck out five and walked one. Haren, who signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Nationals at the beginning of the season, improved his record to 10-14 as he bested the D'backs starter Brandon McCarthy, who went seven innings and gave up both runs.

Arizona is not ending the season on a good note. The Diamondbacks fall to 80-81 and need a victory on Sunday to even the slate for the season.

Wildcats lose in Seattle

Arizona Wildcats Football


Quarterback B.J. Denker handed the ball off to Ka'Deem Carey 30 times in Arizona's 31-13 loss in Seattle tonight to the Washington Huskies.

And that wasn't near enough.

Carey rushed for 132 yards in his 30 chances, another 15 or 20 attempts and maybe things would have been different. Too many offensive plays by the Wildcats came up empty as Denker unleashed 35 passes, but only 14 of them found an Arizona receiver. Two passes were intercepted and 21 in all were off target.

I know you can't rush the ball on every down, but my goodness Carey averaged 4.4 yards every time he ran the ball and he also caught four passes for 49 yards -- averaging 12.3 yards every time he caught the ball.

Give Carey the ball! Especially on a night when it's raining cats and dogs and you have the top rusher in the country in your backfield.

I know, I sound like a frustrated Wildcat fan.

The game was a pain to watch from the get-go, unless you were a Husky fan. Who in their right mind would want to live in Seattle, Washington? Does the sun ever shine there?

Every conceivable way to score points in a football game occurred in the first half, except an extra point. The score was 11-6 at intermission as Washington scored a touchdown, missed the extra point, recorded a safety and booted a field goal. Arizona scored a touchdown (a 3-yard run by Carey in the second quarter), but the point-after was wide left.

Arizona did manage to score a touchdown after the intermission on a 7-yard run by Denker with 5:14 left in the third quarter.  Jake Smith booted the PAT and that was it for the Wildcats. The Huskies put up 14 in the third quarter and six more in the fourth (they missed an extra-point, too).

The Wildcats rushed for 199 yards (and, of course most of those came from Carey) and passed for 119. The Huskies did a little bit better with 244 yards rushing and 165 through the air. Ironically, both teams ran 86 plays. What was even more frustrating was the Huskies' conversions on third down. Time and time again, Washington converted.

The big headline on the sports pages in the Seattle papers in the morning will document the Huskies running back Bishop Sankey for his performance against the Wildcats. Sankey carried the ball 40 times (a school record) for 161 yards and a touchdown.

Undoubtedly, the Seattle sports reporters will say Sankey over shadowed Carey.

Now, what if...what if Carey had the 40 carries? The 16th-ranked Huskes might have still won, but it seems to me the ball should be in the hands of your top performer. Carey is not in the doghouse, he's now on the field of play. Give him the ball!

Arizona falls to 3-1, while the Huskies improve to 4-0. The Huskies move to the top of the Pac-12, while the Wildcats fall to the bottom.

Hate to bet against a Price, but today I will!

Arizona Wildcats Football

I hate to bet against a Price, but today I will. Keith Price is the quarterback for the Washington Huskies (3-0) and his team will take on my Arizona Wildcats (3-0) this afternoon in Seattle. The Huskies are favored by a touchdown as well as they should be with a 16th national ranking and the home field advantage. Price is like money in the bank for the Huskies with over 800 yards passing and seven touchdowns in three games.

As for the outcome, this PRICE is going to go out on a limb and predict an Arizona win. Now, that isn't unusual since I'm always picking my Wildcats to win. But I have a feeling this is a coming out party for Arizona. The Wildcats need to make a statement to the Huskies and the rest of the Pac-12 that they are worthy of consideration for a Pac-12 title. Enough of this middle of the pack stuff.

I hope the Price is right. I predict a 42-38 win.

Rookie's 2-run single leads to TOTS' win

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball

It was another close one at Udall Park this morning.

Team Blue slipped by Team White 6-5 in a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game. Team Blue used a three-run fifth inning to take the lead for good thanks in part to 63-year-old rookie Tom Potter who drilled a single over the head of right fielder Joe Aparicio to plate two of the three runs.

Team Blue also received RBI-singles from Jesse Ochoa and Chico Bigham, while Bob Katz picked up the final run on a bases-loaded walk.

Ron Petersen knocked in two runs for Team White, while Pigpen Price, Pete Peters and Jerry Hamelin singled in runs. Petersen pitched five innings and was saddled with the loss, while Lloyd Barzell hurled all six innings for Team Blue and picked up the win.

The catch of the day goes to Team White outfielder Jerry Smarik, Smarik, 81, moved to his left and made a one-handed catch on a shot to the gap in right center in the fourth inning by Bigham.

The TOTS will be back at it on Monday morning.

Go, TOTS!

Photo: Tom Potter

D'backs head home after losing 3 of 4 at San Diego

The Arizona Diamondbacks lose 3-2 in 11 innings to the Padres this afternoon and head home for their final three-game series of the season on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Chase Field with the Washington Nationals.

Arizona (80-79) loses 3 of 4 in San Diego and are on the verge of a losing season if they can't take down the Nationals this weekend. Patrick Corbin will get the start on Friday, Brandon McCarthy on Saturday and Wade Miley will pitch the final game of the season on Sunday.

The Diamondbacks get just three hits against the Padres today -- one of the hits was from  Paul Goldschmidt as he extends his hitting streak to 16 games. Martin Prado homered and A.J Pollock tripled and that was it for the D'backs.

Diamondbacks even series with Padres

Shortstop Didi Gregorius tripled in the winning run in the top of the 12th inning and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt homers in the 6th inning -- his 36th of the season and 124th RBI of the year -- as the Arizona Diamondbacks edge San Diego 2-1 last night and even the four-game series with the Padres at one game apiece.

The series continues at Petco Park in San Diego with a game tonight and an afternoon game on Thursday. Arizona (80-77) needs one more win to avoid a losing season.

Arizona sent eight pitchers to the mound last night as Josh Collmenter (5-4) gets the win in relief and Brad  Ziegler gets the save, his 12th of the season.

There will be no 100 game-winners in MLB this year

The Colorado Rockies beat the Boston Red Sox 8-3 in the Mile High City tonight. It was Boston's 63rd loss of the season -- meaning the major leagues will be without a 100 game-winner.  Boston  (95-63) went into tonight's game as the only major league team with a shot at the century mark. The Red Sox will go into tomorrow's action (Sept. 25) with the best winning percentage in the MLB at .601.

Rattlers rock Aces

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)


60-and-over Aces

The 60-and-over Aces couldn't come up with the right combination at Mission Manor Park this morning, but the Arizona Rattlers found the right key for a victory. Rattlers win it 12-6 as the Aces once again were guilty of a hand full of errors. The Rattlers took advantage of the Aces' miscues and scored four runs in the second inning and five more in the third.

The Aces took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on an RBI-single to center by Pigpen Price and then in the fourth inning they plated five runs thanks in part to a triple by Tim Tolson and a double by Ron Petersen. The Aces closed the gap to 9-6 but couldn't get any closer as the Rattlers added two runs in their half of the fifth inning and a run in the sixth.

"We hit the ball well, but we just made too many errors," said manager Jerry Hamelin, following the game. It hasn't been a good week for the Aces, who lost 16-2 last Saturday to the defending MSBL/MALB 60-and-over champions, the Cool Arrows, and the loss today to the Rattlers.

The Aces continue to prepare for the 2013 MSBL/MALB World Series in Phoenix. The Aces open play in the 60-and-over division at the world series on Oct. 28.

Photo: Tim Tolson, who provided the biggest blow for the Aces today with a triple.

Team Priceless 1of 5 unbeaten teams in fantasy football league

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


Team Priceless moves to 3-0 in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League thanks in part in Week 3 to a  high production of fantasy points from New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown and Dallas running back DeMarco Murray.

Brees throws for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Brees also adds a rushing touchdown as New Orleans routs Arizona 31-7 and he finishes with 38 fantasy points, while Brown goes crazy in Pittsburgh's 40-23 loss to Chicago with 31 fantasy points as he picks up 196 receiving yards and scores two touchdowns. Murray was a pleasant surprise as he rambles for 175 yards and a score as the Cowboys roll over St. Louis 31-7.

Four other teams in the fantasy league are also 3-0. Nut Rub leads in points scored with 380. Team Priceless is a close second with 367, Mega Powers with 335 points, Three Fight Right with 318 points and Team Arps with 315 points round out the top five unbeaten teams.

So far so good for my Team Priceless.

Diamondbacks win, Davidson belts his 2nd 3-run homer in two days

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 13-9 at Coors Field tonight and won the three-game series 2 to 1. The D'backs improve to 79-76 and close out their season with a four-game series at San Diego and a three-game series at Chase Field with the Washington Nationals.

Rookie Matt Davidson did his thing again tonight as he belted an RBI-double in the third inning and then hit his second 3-run homer of the series in the ninth as the Diamondbacks matched the Rockies in hits with 19.

Arizona's all-star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt doubled in a run and scored a run in the third inning. It was Goldy's 123rd RBI of the season and his 100th run scored. Goldschmidt leads the National League in RBIs and leads in home runs with 35.

70-and-over Arizona Scorpions draw Australia Aussies in MSBL World Series opener

The 70-and-over Arizona Scorpions, with a roster consisting of eight players from the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS), will play the Aussies from Australia in a first round game at the MSBL/MALB World Series on Monday, Oct. 14.

The game will be played at Maryvale Park, the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Game time is set for 9:30 AM.

A partial schedule was released earlier this week by the senior world series committee and the Scorpions will play Dodgertown West on Tuesday, Oct. 15, the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Oct. 16,  and Team America on Thursday, Oct. 17. The matchup and final round-robin game for Friday, Oct. 18, as yet to be announced.

The Scorpions' game with Dodgertown will be held at Tempe Diablo Stadium, spring training home of the Los Angeles Angels. Game time is set for 9:00 AM. The Scorpions will take on the Padres at the Goodyear Complex, spring training home of the Cleveland Indians, and will tangle with Team America at one of the annex fields at the Salt River Complex, home of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. Both games on Wednesday and Thursday have a scheduled start for 10:00 AM.

If the Scorpions qualify for weekend play and win their playoff games on Saturday, Oct. 19, they would play in the title game, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 20, at 9:30 AM. The championship game will be held at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Diamondbacks even series with Rockies, win 7-2

The Arizona Diamondbacks banged out 14 hits at Coors Field tonight and beat Colorado 7-2 to even the three-game series with the Rockies. Gerardo Parra and Chris Owings collected three hits apiece for the Diamondbacks, while Paul Goldschmidt hit a slow roller down the third baseline in the ninth inning for an RBI-single to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, while picking up his 122nd RBI of the season.

Rookie Matt Davidson hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Trevor Cahill picked up the win and improved his record to 8-10. Arizona (78-76) will go after the series win tomorrow afternoon as Patrick Corbin (14-7) goes for his 15th win of the year.

Arizona Scorpions World Series roster finalized

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

Arizona Scorpions

The 70-and-over MSBL/MALB World Series roster for the Arizona Scorpions has been finalized and eight of the 15 players are members of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club.

The Arizona Scorpions begin play at the senior world series in Phoenix on Monday, Oct. 14.

The eight players from Tucson and their ages are Arnie White (72), Chico Bigham (75), Danny Price (68), Eddie Eckert (73), Jeff Helzel (73), Jerry Hamelin (73), Ron Petersen (68) and Ed Rife (76).

The balance of the roster includes two players from the Phoenix area, one player from the south side of Tucson, who plays for the 60-and-over Arizona Rattlers, three players from out of state, and one player from France.

The player from France is 70-year-old Don Kladstrup and the player from the Arizona Rattlers is 70-year-old Tony Bonilla. The Phoenix players include Dorhman Sinclair (72) and Tony Contreres (68). The out of state players include Jim Jaquet (71) from Ketchum, Idaho, Phil Webster (72) from Camby, Indiana and Allan Sandberg (71) from Monument, Colorado.

The Arizona Scorpions will play five round-robin games (one game a day during the week) and eight teams will qualify for the playoffs, which begin on Saturday morning, Oct. 19. The championship game for the 70-and-over division will be held Sunday morning, Oct. 20, at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Photos: (top to bottom) The eight Arizona Scorpions from the TOTS: Arnie White, Chico Bigham, Danny Price, Eddie Eckert, Jeff Helzel, Jerry Hamelin, Ron Petersen and Ed Rife.

Dodgers capture NL West

The LA Dodgers came from behind to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 at Chase Field this afternoon and with the victory capture the division title in the NL West -- their first division title since 2009.

Arizona led 6-3 after three innings of play but couldn't hold off the Dodgers down the stretch. Hanley Ramirez hit two home runs and drove in four runs for Los Angeles (88-65).

The Diamondbacks (77-75) get two hits apiece from A.J. Pollock, Martin Prado and Geraldo Parra, while Paul Goldschmidt knocks in a run with a ground-rule double in the third inning for his 119th run batted in of the season, but it wasn't enough as the Dodgers score two runs in the sixth and single runs in the seventh and eighth to capture the title.

Arizona closes out its season with a three-game series at Colorado, a four-game series at San Diego and a three- game series at home against the Washington Nationals.

Diamondbacks keep Dodgers from clinching NL West

The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to clinch the National League Western division. The Arizona Diamondbacks are on the ropes, but showed some pride last night as they made sure the Dodgers didn't celebrate and uncork the Champagne bottles at Chase Field.

The Diamondbacks would just as soon see the Dodgers celebrate somewhere other than Chase Field and last night, behind Paul Goldschmidt's 34th homer of the season, Arizona upends the NL West leaders, 9-4.

Arizona improves to 77-74 and the Dodgers fall to 87-65. The Diamondbacks are 9 1/2 games back of the Dodgers. The two teams will tangle again at noon today as Arizona sends Wade Miley (10-10) to the mound in search of his 11th win of the season.

Aces schedule game against 2012 60-and-over World Series champs

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over Aces


The 60-and-over Aces will have their hands full on Saturday morning at Tucson Santa Rita Park as they tangle with the Tucson Cool Arrows, the defending 2012 60-and-over MSBL/MABL World Series champions, in an exhibition game.

The Arrows, coached by Mike Morales, won it all and received MSBLWorld Series rings last year as they ran the table and beat all the competition in the prestigious senior baseball tournament, which is held every year in Phoenix, during the month of October.

This year the Aces, comprised only of members from the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) senior baseball club, which plays three days a week at Udall Park, will send their first ever team to play in the MSBL World Series. The 60-and-over division is scheduled to play Oct. 28 through Nov. 2 and games are scheduled at all of the spring training facilities through out the Phoenix area.

The Arrows, of course, are favored to win on Saturday, but the game will be a "learning tool" for the Aces, who will play in the 60-and-over Cactus division at the MSBL World Series with competition set to begin in just five weeks.

Aces Update (Saturday, 9-21-13) The Aces had a tough time with the defending 2012 MSBL World Series Champions. The Cool Arrows showed why they are the current champs as they beat the Aces, 16-2. The Aces committed their share of errors and made a a hand full of mental mistakes as the Cool Arrows scored in every inning. Lefty Ron Petersen pitched the first three innings for the Aces and Ted Davis tossed the final three innings. The Aces did manage seven hits off the champs' pitching staff as Dennis Crowley, Pigpen Price, Lloyd Barzell, Mike Taylor, Jerry Hamelin, Davis and Petersen hit safely. The Aces did throw two runners out at the plate and caught another runner  in a tag out at third base. The Aces also turned two double plays. The Aces will take on the Arizona Rattlers on Tuesday at Udall Park as they continue to prepare for the 2013 MSBL/MALB World Series.

TOTS rookie singles in game-winner

TOTS Senior Baseball Network

60-and-over baseball

Mike Taylor, 61, singled in the game-winner in a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game this morning at Udall Park. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth and final inning, Taylor, playing for Team Blue, drilled a shot to right field and Pete Peters, 63, who had singled earlier in the inning, scampered home from third with the winning run as Team Blue beat Team White, 7-6.

Right-hander Billy Heiny, 84, was saddled with the loss, while lefty Dennis Crowley, 63, picked up the  win. Both pitchers went the distance in the six-inning game.

Taylor (above photo), who officially became a member of the TOTS in early-August, is one of three rookies on the ball club, the other newbies are 62-year-old Brian Reilly and 68-year-old Dan Lundwall.

The TOTS will be at it again on Friday as they continue their three-games a week schedule, despite the hot temperatures. It was another hot one again today as the temperature hovered around the 100 degree mark by the end of the game. Historically, the TOTS alter their starting times during the summer months as they take the field around 9 a.m. In the fall, winter and spring, the TOTS return to their normal 10 a.m. starting time.

No matter how you look at it the TOTS continue to have their 12-month seasons. The TOTS are the oldest organized baseball team in the country and are likely the only club that plays year around. There always seems to be a game at Udall Park, not so in other parts of the country where rain, snow and icy ball fields are the norm from say November through March.

It takes a pretty good Desert Storm to keep the TOTS off the ball field.

Diamondbacks clear the bench in loss to Dodgers

The Arizona Diamondbacks (76-74) cleared the bench last night at Chase Field, using all 16 position players. That's not a good sign.

Arizona loses  9-3 to the LA Dodgers (87-64) and will mathematically be out of the running for postseason play with another loss tonight to the NL West leader.

Matt Kemp returned to the Dodgers lineup and went 4-4 with a couple of doubles and three RBI as LA snapped a four-game losing streak. Paul Goldschmidt stays hot for the D'backs as the all-star first baseman goes 2 for 3 and scores a run. Goldy upped his batting average to .303. His 116 RBI leads the National League and his 33 homers ties him with Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez.

The Dodgers sent Pat Corbin (14-7) to the showers early in this one. Corbin goes just two innings and gives up six of the nine runs. His ERA dips to 3.17.

The four-game series continues tonight as Brandon McCarthy (4-9) takes the mound for the Diamondbacks.

Goldschmidt hits 33rd homer, Diamondbacks win!

Paul Goldschmidt came up with one of the two hits by the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Chase Field. Fortunately for the D'backs, Goldschmidt hit cleared the centerfield fence in the bottom of the first inning for a two-run homer, his 33rd of the season, and the good guys slip by the LA Dodgers, 2-1

The Dodgers started Hyun-Jin Ryu (13-7) and the Dodger lefty pitched all eight innings for LA. Ryu walked one and struck out four and made one bad pitch to Goldy. Aaron Hill recorded the other hit for Arizona.

As for the D'backs, they went with Trevor Cahill (7-10), who goes 5 1/3 and allows just two hits and one run. Josh Collmenter, David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler finish the job. Ziegler earns his 11th save  of the season.

Arizona improves to 76-73 and the Dodgers fall to 86-64, but maintains a 9 1/2 game cushion in the NL West over the Diamondbacks.

Team Priceless moves to 2-0 in fantasy football league

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


Two weeks are in the books in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League and five of 12 teams are unbeaten at 2-0. Nut Rub, Team Arps, Mega Powers, Three Fight Right and my team, Team Priceless, are the five teams with unblemished records.

Team Priceless wins a nail-biter 114-108 behind a 25-point fantasy effort from Philadelphia wide receiver DeSean Jackson (193 receiving yards and one touchdown). I won despite the fact my quarterback, Drew Brees, had an off-night with just 16 fantasy points. Brees and the New Orleans Saints won 16-14 over Tampa Bay, but in the fantasy world the 322 yards and one passing touchdown turned in by Brees failed to calculate into big fantasy points. Now, if Brees had thrown one more pass for  28 yards, then he would have hit the 350-passing mark and according to our league rules my Team Priceless would have been awarded an additional 10 bonus points.

For the second week in a row my backup quarterback, Eli Manning, sat on the bench and once again he outscores Brees. Eli and the New York Giants lose in the real world to Denver and his brother, Peyton, on Sunday by a score of 41-23. In the fantasy world Eli brings home 26 points -- 10 more than Brees.

Each week turns into a real guessing game.

As we head into Week 3, the owner of Team Priceless, yours truly, will try to come up with the right formula in hopes of getting my team to 3-0. Team Priceless will take on Blitz (0-2), a formidable opponent whose owner will have to make a decision of his own. Blitz can go with Cincinnati's Andy Dalton at quarterback or go with Washington's signal-caller Robert Griffin III.

We'll have to wait and see how it all turns out. Sure would like to get to 3-0 -- that would be a first for me.

Furyk finishes 3rd at BMW Championship

Despite a record-breaking 59 on Day 2, former Arizona Wildcat Jim Furyk finishes three shots back of the winner Zach Johnson at the BMW Championships in Forest Lake, IL. Furyk cards a 13-under 271, while Johnson fires a 16-under 268 to take the title. Nick Watney ended up in second place with a 14-under 270. Where was Tiger? Mr. Woods finished up in a tie for 11th with his four-day total of 275.

Goldschmidt leads NL with 114 RBI

Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt goes 4 for 4 and drives in five runs as the Diamondbacks beat Colorado 8-2 today at Chase Field. The D'backs improve to 75-73 and take 2 of 3 from the visiting Rockies.

Goldschmidt leads the National League with 114 RBI. Goldy also hit his 32nd home run and is one behind the NL leader Pedro Alvarez of Pittsburgh.

The Diamondbacks will host the LA Dodger (86-62) in a four-game series, starting tomorrow night. Arizona is 11 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.

Wildcats move to 3-0

Arizona Wildcats Football

In the Stands Report by Bookemdanosports: Arizona running back Ka'Deem Carey rushes for 128 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback B.J. Denker tosses a TD pass and scores two rushing touchdowns as the Wildcats improve to 3-0 with a 38-13 victory over the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) at Arizona Stadium tonight.

The Wildcats defense gives up two first-half field goals and allows UTSA to score a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Arizona forces UTSA into two turnovers -- one on a fumble recovery and the other on an interception.

And now it's on to the hard part of the schedule -- nine consecutive Pac-12 games awaits the Wildcats.

It'll be a tough road to travel because it looks like the Pac-12 Conference may turn out to be the second-best conference in the country. Just look at today's results: UCLA knocks off Nebraska (41-21), Stanford beats Army (34-20), USC pounds Boston College (35-7), Oregon trounces Tennessee (59-14), Washington beats Illinois (34-24), Washington State blows by Southern Utah (48-10) and Arizona State edges Wisconsin (32-30). Also two Pac-12 teams go at each other and combine for 99 points as Oregon State outlasts Utah (51-48). Colorado's game at home against Fresno State was postponed due to flooding in the North Country.

Utah and California were the only two Pac-12 teams to go down today. The Golden Bears fall to 4th-ranked Ohio State, 52-34.

So, it looks like the SEC just maybe the best football conference again this year. But, the teams from the Pac-12 Conference are breathing down their necks. Hard to argue that fact after watching the Alabama-Texas A&M game today. Wow! The Crimson Tide hangs on to beat Johnny Football and the Aggies, 49-42.

Some more observations: It wasn't exactly standing-room only tonight at Arizona Stadium, but maybe it was because the Wildcats' foe, UTSA, the four-letter word (if you will) might be construed as a South American Tennis Association. Still, it's hats off to the San Antonio team. They weren't that bad. I venture to say, there were a few tickets given away tonight by season ticket holders...not the case, I'm sure, for the football fans in College Station, Texas this afternoon.

As for Arizona's passing game, I figure Coach Rod would like to see a bit more than 158 yards from B.J. Denker. The Wildcats rushed for 264 yards tonight, but Denker went 14 for 21 and the 158 yards was just a little better than last week's totals in Las Vegas.

Still, I'm happy with a 3-0 start. The Wildcats finish their non-conference games averaging just a shade under 44 points a game on offense and just a shade under nine points a game on the defensive side.

Coach Rod will certainly use the bye week to gets things in order as the Wildcats prepare for the Huskies in Seattle on Sept. 28.

Arizona Alum shoots a 59 at BMW Championship

Jim Furyk, a former All-American golfer for the Arizona Wildcats, fires a 59 today at the BMW Championship and becomes just the sixth player in golf history to complete the feat.

Furyk sank a birdie putt on his 18th hole to tie for the prestigious record and he is the only player to card a 59 with a bogey on his scorecard.

Despite his 59, Furyk is tied for first with Brandt Snedeker, after two rounds of the BMW championship, which is being held in Forest Lake, IL. Both players enter Day 3 with a two-day total of 131.

Fast game, good pitching

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball


Fast game and good pitching.

That pretty much sums up today's 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game held at Udall Park.

Lefty Ron Petersen, age 68, and right-hander Lloyd Barzell (63), two pitchers who will be heading for the 2013 MSBL/MABL World Series in Phoenix next month, battled to the end in a 1-1 final score.

All the runs were scored in the fourth inning. Team White, Barzell's squad, got their run in the top of the inning on an RBI-single to left by 69-year-old Dave Rhoades. Chico Bigham, 74, scored from third. In the bottom of the inning, Petersen helped his own cause with a one-out RBI on a three-hopper to first base. First-sacker Jeff Helzel, 71, made the unassisted putout, but the tying run scored from third and Team Blue avoided a goose egg as well.

And that's the way it ended. Another one of those "kiss your sister" games.

Today's game lasted just one hour and 30 minutes. Even old-timers can work at a fast pace.

Corbin, D'backs beat LA 4-1

Patrick Corbin gets his 14th win and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 4-1 in Los Angeles tonight. The D'backs salvage 1 of 3 with the Dodgers (85-60) and move one game over the .500 mark at 73-72.

Corbin (14-6) allowed one run and was relieved in the seventh inning with one out. Paul Goldschmidt goes 4 for 5 and drives in two runs -- his 108th and 109th of the season.

72-72!

The Arizona Diamondbacks will try to salvage the final game of the three-game series with the Dodgers in LA tonight. After losing the first two games -- including last night's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers in 11 innings, the D'backs fall to 72-72 on the season.

Pat Corbin (13-6) takes the mound for the Diamondbacks tonight. Arizona is now 13 games back of the Dodgers (85-59) with 18 games left in the season.

As for all those extra-inning games, the D'backs have now played 23 extra-inning games this season -- tops in the Majors.

As for D'backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, he goes 2 for 5 on his 26th birthday. Goldy scores a run, but fails to pick up any RBIs.

Team Priceless wins opener

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


As the owner of Team Priceless, I guess you could say I'm a happy camper this week as I win my opener in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League.

I received 35 fantasy points from my quarterback Drew Brees (New Orleans) and 16 from wide receiver DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia) as I win easily, 117-91, over my first-round foe, Nuts to Butts.

Of course, I could have made it a lot easier on myself if I had started Eli Manning (NYGiants) at quarterback and Denver tight end Julius Thomas. I gave them the weekend off and what do they do? Manning records 49 fantasy points and Thomas, in a big surprise, brings home 23 points.

It's pretty much a no-brainer to go with Brees, so I don't feel too bad about that one. Thomas, on the other hand, out-totaled my starter at tight end, Green Bay's Jermichael Finley, 23-11.

The six winners in the first week of my 12-team fantasy league include: Trojan Girl, Team Arps, Three Feet Right, Mega Powers, Nut Rub and Team Priceless. The six losers include: Blitz, Nuts to Butts, Peach Fuzz Manholes, A-Team, Suh-nami and Assassins.

The top individual point-getter in the fantasy league this week goes to Peyton Manning (Denver). Manning throws seven TD passes and amasses 462 yards for 70 fantasy points as the Broncos beat  Baltimore. Peyton's brother, Eli (who I benched this week), finishes second in the league this week with his 49 points.

As for my pick of Brees, chances are I'll continue to pencil in the Saints quarterback in my starting lineups. Brees is rated No. 1 in most fantasy leagues. I might get burned again, but I'll take my chances. At any rate, my Week 1 results turned out pretty good. Some owners really got burned this week with the choices they made at the starting quarterback position.

For instance, the owner of the A-Team (Don H.) owns Peyton Manning, but he went with Andrew Luck. The Indy quarterback threw two touchdown passes, but amassed just 28 fantasy points, compared to the 70 Mr. Manning put up.

That's the way it goes in fantasy football.

Another extra-inning game for the D'backs!

Another extra-inning game for the Arizona Diamondbacks, only this time it doesn't go the way of the good guys as the Giants win 3-2 in 11 innings today at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Joe Thatcher (3-2) gives up the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 11th as the Giants' Angel Pagan singles home pinch-runner Ehire Adrianza and Arizona falls to 72-70.

The  Diamondbacks received another good outing from Wade Miley, who went seven innings. He allowed two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out three.

And now it's off to LA. The Diamondbacks open up a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night.

Wildcats roll in Las Vegas

What happens in Las Vegas doesn't necessarily have to remain a secret.

Heck, if you're an Arizona Wildcats football fan all bets are off, lets just go ahead and tell anyone who will listen the following:

The Wildcats dismantle UNLV 58-13 tonight in Sin City as they run over the Rebels with 397 yards rushing and tack on another 81 via the air en route to their second lopsided win of the season.

Yeah, I know. The Wildcats are 2-0 with wins over NAU and UNLV not exactly top-25 opponents. But man are they fun to watch.

Finally, Ka'Deem Carey gets his hands on the ball. On his first carry of the season (with 14:28 left in the first half, mind you!), Carey rambles 58 yards for a touchdown. Carey finishes the night with 171  yards rushing and two touchdowns.

B.J. Denker rushes for 63 yards and scores two touchdowns.

Daniel Jenkins adds another 79 yards on the ground.

Jared Baker adds to the Wildcats rushing totals with 66 yards on 12 carries and Kylan Butler puts the finishing touches on a great win for Arizona with a 3-yard run with 2:50 left in the game.

The Wildcats get the job done on defense with Jake Fischer and Tra'Mayne Bondurant leading the way. Both defenders intercept passes thrown in the second quarter by UNLV quarterback Nick Sherry -- Fischer from 49 yards out and Bondurant from 52 yards out.

Arizona led 45-6 at the half. The Wildcats slowed the game down in the second half and milked the clock a bit. As an Arizona die-hard fan, I say keep it at full throttle.

Way to go, Wildcats!

McCarthy tosses gem

Brandon McCarthy tosses eight strong innings and Paul Goldschmidt goes 3 for 4 and drives in his 107th run of the season as the Arizona Diamondbacks edge the Giants 2-1 in San Francisco tonight.

McCarthy (4-9) allows six hits and strikes out six. Brad Ziegler comes on in the ninth inning to pick up the save. Arizona improves to 72-69 and will try to win three of four with the Giants as they send Wade Miley (9-10) to the mound tomorrow afternoon.

As for Goldschmidt, he continues to lead the National League in RBIs. The Diamondbacks all star first baseman is six runs ahead of Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips, who has 101. Allen Craig (STL) is in third place with 97.

If you can't win, at least spoil a no-hitter

The Arizona Diamondbacks were silent at the plate last night in San Francisco.

The D.backs lost to the Giants 3-0, but at least they spoiled a no-hitter as Eric Chavez hit a two-out single to right field in the ninth off Yusmeiro Petit.

Patrick Corbin (13-6) loses another one as he pitches eight innings. He allowed eight hits and three runs and once again failed to get any support offensively from his teammates.

Arizona falls to 71-69. The Diamondbacks are now 12 games back of the NL West leading LA Dodgers and are eight games back in the Wild Card race.

Oldest TOT celebrates 88th birthday

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over-baseball

First baseman Floyd Lance turned 88 today and celebrated his birthday with his Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) teammates at Udall Park this morning.

Lance becomes the oldest active member of the TOTS, the oldest organized baseball club in the country. The TOTS range in age from 60 to now 88, thanks to Lance, who was born September 6, 1925 in Glen Gardner, New Jersey. Lance joined the TOTS in 1999 and is still going strong.

Lance played in 11 games during the month of August and he wasn't too happy with his batting average. Lance, a career .500 hitter in his 14 years with the TOTS, went 7 for 30 during the month of August for a .233 batting average. He scored three runs and knocked in four runs. He led the team in sacrifice bunts with three.

"That was my worst month, ever," Lance said.

You get the feeling that he's chomping at the bit to get that average up in September. During the month of June, Lance batted .394 on a 13 for 33 performance.  "That's was more like it," he said.

Happy Birthday, Lance!

Your teammates are looking forward to you stepping up to the plate for many years to come.

Photo: Sir Floyd with his birthday cake.

Diamondbacks grab opener in San Francisco

The Arizona Diamondbacks are still plugging away.

Paul Goldschmidt goes 2 for 5 and knocks in his 105th and 106th RBI of the season as the Diamondbacks edge the Giants 4-2 in the series opener in San Francisco tonight.

It's been a while since the D'backs have seen those kind of RBI numbers. Goldy needs to knock in 36 more runs to tie D'back greats Matt Williams (1999) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) for the most single-season RBIs by an Arizona Diamondbacks' hitter. Both players own the franchise record with 142.

Wow! Those are Miguel Cabrera numbers!

Arizona improves to 71-68 with its victory tonight. There are just 23 games left in the regular season.

Now, if Goldschmidt could get hot and drive in 37 runs the rest of the way, he'd have the D'backs' RBI  record and chances are Arizona would be playoff-bound.

Yes, I'm dreaming. Now, I think I'll go to bed and see if I can sleep.

Barzell edges Pigpen Price for most hits by a TOT in August

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball

Lloyd Barzell came close to running the table in most of the statistical categories, according to the official Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) August statistics, which were released today. Barzell led the TOTS in hits with 23, two more than runner-up Danny "Pigpen" Price, who finished with 21.

Barzell played in all 12 games as did Jerry Smarik, Pete Peters and Price. Barzell tied with Price for the most at bats (39) and was third in runs scored (16), behind Peters, who led the club with 18 and Dennis Crowley, who finished second with 17.

Barzell led the way in RBI with 18, while five players -- Ed Rife, Ted Davis, Tim Tolson, Ron Carlson and Peters -- tied for second with nine runs batted in.

The top hitter for the month (based on 10 games or more) turned out to be Crowley (above photo), who played in 11 games. Crowley went 19 for 32 for a healthy .594 average, edging out Barzell, who finished at .590 with his 23 hits in his 39 at bats. Crowley also walked eight times to lead the TOTS in that category.

Price finished third in batting at .538 (21 for 39), while Ron Carlson ended up fourth at .520 (15 for 35). Bob Daliege tied with Barzell for the most triples (they each had one) and Tolson hit the only  home run in August. Tolson, who played in just five games during the month, batted an even .600 with nine hits in 15 plate appearances but didn't have the official number at bats needed in order to grab the batting title for the month.

As for the pitching stats, once again it was all Barzell. The 63-year-old right hander went 5-0 during the month. Other pitching performances for the month included: Billy Heiny (1-0), Bob Royer (1-1), Joe Aparicio (0-1), Ron Petersen (0-2), Daliege (1-0-1), Price (1-1-2), Crowley (1-1-2), Peters (0-1) and Ted Davis (0-1-1).

Photo: Dennis Crowley led the TOTS in batting in August with a .594 batting average.

Diamondbacks on the verge of a .500 record

The Arizona Diamondbacks are fading -- at home.

The D'backs have dropped two straight to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and have dropped five of their last six at Chase Field.

Not exactly what manager Kirk Gibson and the Diamondbacks fans were looking for.

Arizona did get homers yesterday from Adam Eaton, Didi Gregorius and Miguel Montero, during its 10-4 loss to the Blue Jays, but it just wasn't enough as Toronto puts up a 10-spot. The D'backs fall behind Washington for the final Wild Card spot...and if you really want to see it in writing again, the Diamondbacks are now 13 1/2 back of the LA Dodgers in the NL West.

A loss to Toronto today, in an afternoon game at Chase Field, will give the Blue Jays a sweep of the three-game series and will sadly push the Diamondbacks season record to an even 69-69. Once again, the D'backs will be labeled a .500 team.

Despite all the late-inning heroics, the extra-inning wins, the come-from-behind victories and those exciting walk-off wins, the D'backs will be categorized as a so-so team in 2013.

Too bad. The Diamondbacks have a good mixture of coaches -- including their manager (there, I said it!). They have some talented defensive players, plenty of speed in the lineup and a go-to guy in Paul Goldschmidt, but something is lacking as game after game they are forced to struggle to get a victory on   a daily basis.

I can't remember the last time the Diamondbacks won a game going away, much less pound an opponent into submission.

I'm still a die-hard fan -- and if I have to wait another year for the D'backs to find that missing link, so be it.

Hats of to the LA Dodgers for coming from behind and walking away with the NL West. Their owners threw in their wallets and took a collective breath. Well, they can now exhale.

The season will begin again in a couple of weeks for the Dodgers and they will be up against it all the way to the World Series. There are some very good teams out there...none of which are dealing with a .500 record.

Go get 'em, D'backs. Continue to play hard, that's one thing you have going for you. Sooner or later, that never-give-up attitude will pay big dividends. Unfortunately, it didn't happen this season.

D'backs Update:  Diamondbacks capture the final game of the three-game series with a 4-3 win today. Yes, you guessed it another walk-off, this time in the bottom of the 10th inning as Willie Bloomquist singles in the game-winner. Arizona (70-68) is now two games over the .500 mark as they head out to San Francisco for a four-game series with the Giants.

Aces let one get away

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over Aces


The 60-and-over Aces let one get away this morning at Tucson Santa Rita Park.

The Aces came out firing on all cylinders with a five-run first inning and by the fifth inning they owned a commanding 11-5 lead over the host team, the Old Pueblo Club.

The Aces found the gaps in left-center and right-center at Santa Rita to their liking as Tim Tolson, Ted Davis and Lloyd Barzell had the OP Club outfielders on their heals as the trio rattled the fences with their "tweeners", unfortunately for the Aces, the bats cooled off in the final two innings and the OP Club fought back.

A hand full of errors in the fifth and sixth didn't help matters, either, and suddenly Old Pueblo had trimmed the Aces lead to 11-10. In the bottom of the seventh, a shot to left, an infield hit and a double to right field sealed the 12-11 win for the Old Pueblo Club.

"We let this one get away, said manager Jerry Hamelin, following the game. "Too many mistakes in the middle innings. We let 'em back in the game."

 Hamelin went with three pitchers today in hopes of getting all three some much-needed work in preparation for next month's MSBL World Series, which will be held in Phoenix, Oct. 28 thru Nov. 2.
Lefty Dennis Crowley pitched the first two innings and allowed two runs. Danny "Pigpen" Price pitched the third and fourth and allowed three runs. Barzell finished up and was saddled with the loss.

But Hamelin made it clear, after the game, that it wasn't the pitching or the lack of hitting in the final innings that allowed the OP Club to get the upper hand.

"There were a few plays we didn't make and we made a couple of bad decisions that cost us." (In other words, there were a few senior moments).

It was the Aces first loss to a south-side team (the other team, the Arizona Rattlers) in over two months.

This one got away...but there's always next time.

Giants rip Corbin, D'backs

The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 at Chase Field today and left town with a series win, capturing two of the three games. Patrick Corbin (13-5) couldn't save the D'backs as the all-star pitcher allowed five runs on nine hits. Corbin lasted five innings and has won just once in his last seven starts.

Paul Goldschmidt, the Diamondbacks all-star first baseman,  walked four times in the series with the Giants and went 1 for 9. As it turns out, Goldy and Corbin didn't have the best of weekends as the Diamondbacks fall to 69-66 and find themselves 11 1/2 games back of the LA Dodgers (81-55).

Third baseman Martin Prado continues his hot streak at the plate. Prado went 6 for 10 in the three-game  series with the Giants and upped his season batting average to .289.

Arizona will host Toronto in a three-game series on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and will send Brandon McCarthy (3-8) to the mound on Labor Day to face the Blue Jays Todd Redmond (2-2).

Toronto is already looking toward 2014. The Blue Jays (62-75) have fallen off the map in the American League East and are 19 1/2 games back of the Boston Red Sox, Boston is 82-56 on the season and own the best record in the American League. The Atlanta Braves own the best record in the National League (and in the Majors) with an 83-53 record.

In the AL Central,  Detroit heads into Labor Day with an 80-57 record and are 7 1/2 games ahead of second-place Cleveland (72-64). In the AL West, the Texas Rangers (79-57) are still in a dogfight with Oakland (78-58).

It's a three-way battle in the NL Central. Pittsburgh and St. Louis are deadlocked at 79-57, while Cincinnati is still putting up a fight and remain 3 1/2 games off the pace at 76-61.

As for the Diamondacks, time is running out. We're a week away from those all important MAGIC NUMBERS.

Another walk-off win for Diamondbacks

Another walk-off win for the Diamondbacks!

This time Eric Chavez gets the bubble gum buckets-mud smudging-after-game treatment from teammate Martin Prado as Arizona edges San Francisco 4-3 last night at Chase Field.

Chavez singled in Willie Bloomquist in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Diamondbacks pick up their 12th walk-off win of the season and 29th comeback win.

Brad Ziegler (8-1) get the win in relief -- the Diamondbacks fourth pitcher of the night.

Bloomquist and Prado combine for six of Arizona's 12 hits.

Ziegler now holds the third most wins on the Diamondbacks pitching staff, behind Patrick Corbin (13) and Wade Miley (9).

The above gets me thinking. What is the most wins in MLB history for a reliever? Well, it is Pittsburgh's Roy Face. In 1959, Face went 18-1!

Corbin (13-4) takes the mound for the Diamondbacks today as Arizona (69-65) will attempt to win the rubber game of the three-game series with the Giants.